Up North Progressive

In a letter to The Nerd dated August 31, 2015, Attorney General Bill Schuette encouraged Snyder to impose state-level sanctions against Iran in the event that the forty year old federal sanctions are lifted. President Obama and the State Department spent months negotiating with the Iranian government to find an agreement where they cease all efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon, and in return trade sanctions would be lifted against them, including selling oil on the international market.

Naturally, because the White House worked to make the world safer and gasoline less expensive, the Republicans are against it. Calling Iran a nation of terrorists and human rights violators, the Attorney General wants the state of Michigan to impose trade sanctions.

Schuette lists four reasons why Governor Nerd should impose state sanctions:

First, Iran engages in some of the world’s most severe human rights abuses, oppressing women, and persecuting people of nearly all faiths, including Baha’is, Jews, and Christians.
Second, Iran continues to be the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, providing weapons to terrorists, functioning as the central bank for terror, and sheltering members of the world’s most notorious terrorist groups.
Third, Iran continues to hold American hostages, including a journalist, a Marine, and a Christian pastor jailed for sharing his faith. A fourth hostage holds the unfortunate record of being the longest-held hostage in American history.
Finally, the controlling regime in Iran remains dedicated to the total destruction of our ally Israel and the complete genocide of its people. Regardless of political affiliation, people from all States can agree that none of these stances should be tolerated, much less supported by funds flowing through and from the States.

It’s laughable when any Republican points a finger at another country and insists they’re a repressive regime. Republicans in the United States openly support oppressing women, minorities and LGBT people by denying them their constitutionally protected right to choose their own health care, disenfranchise voters, and basic civil rights such as marriage. Just a few days ago one of the Republicans running for president suggested using tracking numbers on undocumented workers in the United States, not unlike another repressive regime did about 70 years ago.

Many Iranian practices should appeal to American Conservatives. They’re a religious theocracy and demand everyone there, even visitors from other countries, follow their restrictive laws based on strict religious interpretation on women and LGBT people, just like Republicans in Michigan have publicly stated they want. Women who have abortions in Iran are stoned to death. Gay people are hanged.

Currently Iran is dedicated along with other governments in the Middle East fighting a common enemy – ISIS. The Islamic State came into existence thanks to the vacuum created by the Bush administration and the totally unnecessary war in Iraq. They are the biggest threat to the Middle East, and nations in the region that used to fight each other now work together to defeat the closet thing that exists to Hell on Earth.

Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu Jamal, Private Chelsea Manning, The Cuban 5 (released 2014), Guantanamo, Ricardo Palmera, All of the members of the Black Panther Party still in prison, Jeremey Hammond, and on and on and on …

And Israel, already a nuclear power, continues to illegally “settle” Palestinian land, refuses to come to the table to settle the crisis between Palestinians and Israelis, and committed acts of war and terror on the people of Gaza, the largest prison concentration camp in the world. It will be a glorious day when the United States stops supporting this repressive regime.

Bill Schuette will always continue to be Bill Schuette. With eyes on the Governor’s office he never ceases to disgust and offend the decent people of Michigan. The White House negotiations with Iran will ensure there are less nuclear weapons in the world. The Republicans are lying about the Iran deal, and it has more to do with the oil lobby than any country or people the Iranians are supposedly oppressing. Iran is not a threat to the United States, power hungry politicians like Bill Schuette are the real threat.